Perfect
by Katsuko1978
Summary: Shockwave had thought that the experiment was a failure, but it was far more successful than he would ever know. One-shot, AU, character death.


**Disclaimer:** Transformers © Hasbro  
**Warnings:** Character death, alternate universe, one-shot (thank Primus)  
**Notes:** I got bitten over at the bunny farm and was convinced to write it. Simple (or maybe not-so-simple) AU one-shot.

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**Shockwave had claimed that the experiment was a failure, blaming it on complications and a slightly more complex operation system than he'd anticipated.

The crux of the experiment, sanctioned by Megatron, was to create the perfect killing machine. Unfeeling, efficient, unconcerned with whether he survived or perished in the line of duty. There had been a handful of volunteers, most of whom didn't survive the initial testing phase. The only one who made it the whole way through had been – at the time – Megatron's favourite, a seeker scientist who had volunteered solely out of curiosity and a burning desire to be useful in some way.

The poor little thing had been weaker than his framekin, smaller as well, but the early phase of the experiment worked to enhance what he'd been created with. Extra speed, additional agility, and a processor upgrade to allow him to plan attacks much more efficiently were only the beginning. Shockwave had continued to add and remove programming as he saw fit, trying to remove the emotional programming protocols or at least suppressing them to the point of inactivity. At the same time, the science officer installed a program that would activate the newly-implemented protocols when triggered; he wisely didn't program the trigger during his work process, and had early on convinced the seeker that keeping him offline during upgrades was the safest and most efficient course of action.

Unfortunately, something went wrong. When Shockwave attempted to encode the trigger to activate the new protocols, he was unable to access the programming. And when the seeker was brought fully online, his emotional programming had basically gone haywire. Any and all traces of the quiet scientific mech were gone, replaced by arrogance and instability. Megatron was furious, and commanded that the experiment be scrapped.

The high commander, annoyed at the possibility of losing a decent soldier, reinstated the unstable seeker into the aerial unit. Within a matter of months the mech had coerced, schemed, and lied his way into a position of power amongst the other seekers and led them in a revolt against the current air commander. Megatron had arrived at the hangar in time to witness Starscream blasting the older flyer's laser core to pieces and raising challenging optics to him.

And so the course had been decided, Starscream manipulating his way into the post of second, somehow bypassing Soundwave's claim to the position of third. The erratic behaviour that was the result of Shockwave's failure never truly stabilized but never worsened either. Over the long centuries of war, the experiment was all but forgotten and no further efforts to create a perfect warrior were attempted.

Which is why no one was ready for it.

No one knew what, exactly, had sparked the situation. The rec room had been somewhat crowded, as it always was at the end of shift, and there were several conversations going at once. Ramjet had been talking loudly, boasting about something or another and reveling in the attention from his trine and the few other mechs listening in. Soundwave had slipped from the room a moment before, and Starscream was witnessed by the energon dispenser moments before things got chaotic.

One moment Ramjet was laughing at his own antics, and the next he was hitting the floor with a smoking hole in his chassis and already going grey.

It took all of ten seconds for the other 'cons to realize who the culprit was, and even that was ten seconds too slow. By the time anyone started moving, Starscream had silently taken down the rest of the Coneheads and Motormaster. One of the Constructicons made a grab for the seeker's cannons, only to be repaid by Starscream disregarding the weapon and ripping the other mech's head free from his body, tossing it aside without a second glance.

Within minutes the room looked more like a battlefield than a place of leisure, energon splattered over the walls and grey chassis lying where they'd fallen. One full gestalt was gone, the rest of the Stunticons quickly following Motormaster to the pit, and the Constructicons that had been present were offline as well. Three full trines, a dozen foot soldiers, and a scout also numbered amongst those brutally taken down by Starscream, and the seeker wasn't even running warm.

Those few that had managed to flee – the Cassetticon twins and Starscream's own trine mates – rushed for the command center as quickly as they could, Skywarp actually teleporting into the room in an effort to escape his own wing leader. The only ones present at the time were Megatron and Soundwave.

"Starscream's lost it," the black seeker stammered out just as his sane trine mate and the twins rushed through the doors. "Rec room, few minutes ago. It... he... I don't...."

Thundercracker, intakes cycling hard, took over for the other seeker. "The Stuntis are offlined, the Coneheads too. I don't know how many others, but Screamer's cutting down the entire fragging army _right now_."

A startled cry followed by the gurgling sound of energon rushing from a severed mainline came from the hallway, along with laser fire and the crash of bodies hitting the floor. The twins both darted for the other side of the room and Skywarp ducked behind Thundercracker as the door to the command center whispered open to admit the Decepticons' SIC.

In the aftermath, Thundercracker would never be certain what was more terrifying in that moment: the energon, scorch marks, and cuts that covered the once-pristine frame of his wing mate or the almost bored expression on his faceplate and the blankness in his optics.

Starscream's null rays had both been torn free at some point, not that the seeker seemed to even notice. One hand held a plasma cannon that seemed to have been lifted off one of the Battlechargers – most likely one of the mechs just taken out in the hallway – and the other carried his own backup rifle. Very little of the energon covering the mech appeared to be his, and the few injuries that could be called critical – including an open section of his chest plating revealing a glimpse of his oddly-coloured spark – didn't seem to be bothering him in the least.

"Starscream, explain yourself," Megatron snarled, a part of him more than a little terrified of his SIC even as he charged his fusion cannon in preparation to attack if needed.

The seeker turned to face Megatron, head tilted slightly as if attempting to puzzle out who he was. There was no spark of recognition in his optics, only a faint calculating gleam in the moment before he lunged forward. The warlord had only enough time to raise his left arm to block the attack, Starscream having abandoned one of his weapons in favour of using his claws. The seeker managed to tear one of the silver mech's optics free, drawing a howl of pain even as Megatron jerked back slightly and fired his fusion cannon.

The shot struck the air commander in the midsection, sending him flying against the opposite wall. Any other time, Starscream would deem it wise to remain stationary and give the commander no further reason to target him. Now, however, the seeker quickly rose to his pedes and fired his stolen plasma cannon on his superior. The blast struck Megatron in the chest, knocking him to the floor and doing heavy damage to the plating. The silver mech pulled himself into a seated position, watching through his remaining optic as the emotionless seeker walked over and lifted the plasma cannon once more. Optics still blank and empty, Starscream settled the sights of the weapon right between Megatron's optics.

"Hold."

The seeker's frame relaxed only marginally, plasma cannon still at the ready. Megatron turned his head slightly, still wary of the weapon held so close to his faceplate, to see Soundwave moving to stand behind Starscream. There was an odd glint to the stoic mech's visor, one that Megatron couldn't quite place and made him uneasy.

"Megatron. Query: did you realize how successful Shockwave's experiment would truly be?" the cassette holder asked, one hand settling on Starscream's shoulder for a moment before sliding along the mech's arm. The seeker never eve flinched, optics and face still as blank as ever.

The silver mech tensed slightly. "Shockwave's experiment was a resounding failure," he snarled in response. "The programming was flawed and there was no way to activate it even if it wasn't."

The confused whispering from the other seekers and the cassette twins went ignored, Soundwave laughing darkly to himself. "Negative. Programming protocols: successfully implemented. Trigger program: easy to alter when Shockwave was absent from the room. Modifications: trigger to activate programming and trigger to deactivate programming. Changes: hidden behind false reprogramming of personality protocols."

Megatron's remaining optic flickered and widened in shock and horror. "Soundwave, what have you done?"

"Megatron: inferior. Soundwave: superior. Shockwave: inadvertently provided Soundwave with means to remove inferior model from the situation at appropriate time," the TIC responded, monotone oddly lilting in self-satisfaction. "Starscream: resume program three-two-seven-delta-nine."

There was no vocal indication that Starscream heard or acknowledged the command, only the tensing of his frame in the instant before he fired the plasma cannon. The seeker watched impassively as Megatron's headless frame fell over, turning his head to look at the remaining occupants of the room. He took a step towards his trine mates before Soundwave spoke again.

"Sleep."

Instantly the plasma cannon fell from slack fingers and hit the floor, the seeker himself only kept from following by the cassette deck's grip on his arm. Red optics flickered for a moment and went brilliant blue, confusion clear within them. Starscream looked at the greyed frame of the former Decepticon high commander then turned to fix his gaze on Soundwave, looking very young and very lost.

"Wave?"

"Recommendation: return to personal quarters and refuel. Clean up and await my arrival," Soundwave said smoothly, his usual monotone shifting to a soothing lilt. The obviously confused seeker nodded and did as the older mech bade him, glancing back over his shoulder to give his trine mates a questioning look.

It was as if he didn't even recognize them.

_That_ was what Thundercracker decided was most frightening thing of all: his wing mate, a mech he'd known for the entirety of the war, was little more than a doll as Soundwave's command.

"Recommendation," Soundwave said again, voice resuming the usual monotone and taking on a hard edge, "yield to Soundwave's command. Consequences: would not be pleasant."

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****End Notes:** This took on a direction all its own. And for the record: yes, Soundwave screwed with the trigger programming. As a result, he has three Starscreams to choose from at any given time – the default Screamer that everyone knows, the perfect emotionless killing machine, and the Starscream from just after Skyfire's accident that only wanted someone to take care of him. Make of the last one what you will; Soundwave's motives are not exactly pure.


End file.
